‘Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection’ at Oak Ridge Public Library

Friday

Nov 15, 2013 at 4:33 PM

When Elizabeth Gilbert gave her talk at the Tennessee Theatre Nov. 2, she probably spoke of her new book.

Susie Stooksbury/Readers Guide

When Elizabeth Gilbert gave her talk at the Tennessee Theatre Nov. 2, she probably spoke of her new book. “The Signature of All Things” is her first published fiction in 13 years. In it, Gilbert begins with the story of Henry Whittaker, born into abject poverty in 18th Century England, who makes a fortune in the quinine trade. But it is Alma, Henry’s daughter, who demands our attention. Highly educated with the soul and mind of a scientist, homely Alma finds love late in life with Ambrose Pike, a botanical illustrator and spiritualist.

The Greek myth about twins Castor and Pollux is the foundation for Scott Turow’s new novel “Identical.” Politician Paul Giannis looks like a shoo-in during Kindle County’s mayoral race, even though his twin brother Cass is soon to be released after a 25-year prison term for the murder of Dita Kronons, Cass’s one-time girlfriend. Dita’s brother, powerful real estate investor Hal, hires a former FBI agent to re-open the case — a development that unearths devastating family secrets and endangers Paul’s career and ambitions.

Joe Rantz had only grit and determination going for him. As a teenager in Depression-torn America who had to pretty much fend for himself, Joe managed to get into the University of Washington and qualify for the rowing team — an eight man crew made up of boys with backgrounds much like his. Somehow their coach, Al Ulbrickson, fashioned them into America’s entry in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Miraculously they beat Germany’s allies, the Italians, to win the gold and thwart the Nazis’ plans for victory. Daniel James Brown tells how in “The Boys in the Boat” (797.123).

Sgt. Barbara Havers puts her career on the line in Elizabeth George’s latest installment of her popular series featuring Thomas Lynley. When Barbara’s neighbor and friend Taymullah Azhar came home from work one day, he found that his little girl Hadiyyah and her mother Angelina were gone. It was soon discovered that Angelina had taken Hadiyyah to Tuscany, and since she and Taymullah never married, he had no legal claim to the child. The police could do nothing — at least, not officially. Now Angelina is back, claiming that the little girl was kidnapped in Italy and that Taymullah is behind the crime. As Lynley begins the official work in the case, impetuous Barbara takes matters into her own hands. “Just One Evil Act” (M) is the title.

Whether you were a died-in-the-wool 1960s feminist or a young woman hoping to reap the rewards of that movement, things haven’t quite worked out the way we expected they would. The idea of “Having It All” has brought about its own set of challenges and issues — many of them created, ironically, by women. Debora L. Spar, the president of Barnard College, shares her own views in her eye-opening new book “Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection” (305.420).

While the Bennett girls and their parents sort out their romantic attachments and various suitors upstairs, the hard working servants at “Longbourn” are the ones who keep the household in order. These characters — the cook Mrs. Hill, housemaids Sarah and Polly, and the mysterious new footman James Smith — are the focus of Jo Baker’s engaging new novel which brings an enchanting new dimension to Jane Austen’s classic, “Pride and Prejudice.”